Warrior against Alzheimer’s

You can't hide from oxidative stress:
Biochemist Lisa Landino studies
how molecular byproducts of breathing can lead to damage of the body's
proteins. It the chemical explanation of why antioxidants are good for
you. The National Institutes of Health have awarded her additional
funding to continue her research.

NIH continues to support chemist’s fight against neurodegenerative disease

Landino’s work has drawn federal support
for more than a decade. Recently the William & Mary professor of chemistry
received $415,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She
investigates the constant attack, destruction and repair of the body’s
molecules by the free radicals that are a natural product of respiration.

“We breathe oxygen, so we can’t get away from oxygen
radicals. We can’t get away from oxidative stress,” Landino says. She focuses
her research on oxidative damage to tubulin, a protein that acts as both
scaffolding and as what she describes as a “railroad track” that facilitates
intracellular transfer of other molecules. Landino believes that unrepaired damage of tubulin in
nerve synapses is a major factor in neurodegenerative disease.

“A synapse is where two neurons come
together and communicate with each other,” Landino explained. “Tubulin is part
of the neuronal structure and when the proteins won’t function properly in
neurons, then people can get Alzheimer’s.”

She explained that the tubulin only
functions when it’s assembled in a polymer structure. However, free radicals
break tubulin down into a loose constituent form known as a dimer. Like many
cellular components, tubulin can repair itself—most of the time.

Her recent grant came from the National
Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke. Landino has received a total of
$861,591 from the NIH since 1999 for her work on oxidative damage to proteins.
Over the years she has had around 50 undergraduate students work in her lab,
many of them co-authors on the 10 papers published in peer reviewed journals.

Landino points out that involvement of
undergraduates in her lab was partly responsible for securing the recent grant.

“For this R-15 program it definitely
helps to have undergraduates in the program,” she said. “One of the goals of
the program is expose undergraduate students to research. They really want to
see how you’re training students. At William & Mary, one of the things
we’re best known for is training our undergraduate scientists who go on to
graduate school and then get Ph.D.s”